In total 26 taxa have been described, 21 have been recognized (20 species and 1 variety), two invalid and one nomen nudus (without a formal description).

The genus Scaphopetalum was first described by Masters (1867),[1] based on material from Equatorial Guinee (Mt.John) collected by Gustav Mann.

De Wildeman and T. Durant (June, 1897) described S. thonneri based on material collected by F. Thonner from northern DRC.

The next six new species are a contribution of German taxonomists mainly based on material from Cameroon collected by Ledermann, Mildbraed and Zenker.

That same year Baker f. described two species based on material collected by Talbot from Nigeria, S. parvifolium and S. talbotii.